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One of the routine SC issues at my previous job revolved around R/C cars. Not the cheap ones you can get at Radio Shack, etc, but the high end stuff. Customizable, gas-powered, super fast (200+ scale MPH). Those R/C cars.
We didn't (and they still don't) carry them.
There were three reasons for this.
1) We used to, but at some point the market bottomed out. The Boss - who at the time was pretty astute about these things - saw this coming and got out of R/C cars. Since then...
2) There were no less than THREE area shops that specialized in R/C in general, and two that specifically catered to R/C cars. These shops came around after a market revival. So rather than try and compete with them, the Boss decided to focus elsewhere in the hobby industry (we were BIG into model railroading, as well as plastic kits, Breyer horses, puzzles, etc). In fact, we had an arrangement with one of these shops where we would refer all customers looking for R/C cars to them, and they'd refer custoemrs looking for model railroad (etc) to us.
3) *note: I know this sounds like stereotyping, but I swear this is true well over 50% of the time* the people who came to us looking for R/C car stuff were almost universally scum. Rude, dirty looking, stupid, dressed poorly, rude, and with poor command of English (not foreign. More like someone who droped out of high school having never passed English). Did I mention rude?
For these reasons, my store did not then and does nto now deal in R/C cars AT ALL. We have NOTHING for it, at all, and even though we have access to distributors that carry it, we will not order it.
Yet just about every day we'd get at least one phone call inquiring about R/C cars. A typical conversation might go like this:
*RING!*
Me (or other clerk): Hello, [name of store].
SC: Yeah, you got AH/C cahs? (usually VERY exaggerated Boston-ish accent. Can't pronounce R. I swear, it sounded JUST LIKE THAt almost every time).
Me: No, we don't deal in R/C cars at all. Try calling [other store] over at [address].
SC: Well f*** you then. *click*
Or like this:
*RING!*
Me (or other clerk): Hello, [name of store].
SC: Yeah, you got AH/C cahs?
Me: No, we don't deal in R/C cars at all. Try calling [other store] over at [address].
SC: Do you have Traxxas?
Me: No sir, we don't have any Traxxas stuff. Like I said, we don't deal in R/C cars AT ALL. Try calling [other store] they carry all that stuff.
SC: Well they're closed today!
[This was a problem. This other store was closed on Sundays and Mondays. We were open every day, so we'd get many more calls on Sunday and Monday about this]
Me: Yes, they are closed Sundays and Mondays.
SC: So do you have fuel?
Me: No. We don't have the right kind of fuel.
SC: Do you have ANYTHING?!?!
Me: As I said, we don't deal in R/C cars AT ALL. We have NO R/C cars, supplies, or accessories
SC: Why?
Me: Because there are three area store that do, and we don't want to compete with them.
SC: Well do you at least have [rattles off some request]? It's a nice day and I'd really like to drive my car around today.
Me: No.
SC: Well f*** you then! *click*
Again, as we have all experienced. WE DON'T HAVE IT means WE DON'T HAVE IT! Asking repeatedly does not cause us to start carrying items we do not carry.
And the walk-ins were just as bad. Again, I know this is stereotyping, but we could spot these guys a mile away. The moment they got out of their cars, we could tell what they wanted, and whoever spotted them first would alert the other staff by saying "AH/C CAHS!"
Me: Hello.
SC: Yeah whehs ya AH/C cah section?
Me: We don't have R?C cars at all.
SC: F***ing hell *leaves*
OR a variation ont eh second type of call. THey'd ask if we had this or that, we'd keep saying know. They'd insist on looking anyway, then ask AGAIN when they don't find it.
SC: Will this gas wohk in my AH/C cah? *hold up can of model airplane fuel*
Me: No sir. The percentange of Nitro isn't correct. That fuel will burn up your engine.
SC: Oh......where's the AH/C cah gas?
Me: Again sir, we don't carry it.
SC: This is bull**** I NEED it! *rant rant rant eventually leaves*
Like with the Geographically Challenged, I sorely wanted to post a sign in the window in large print sayin "NO R/C CARS!" But the Boss wouldn't go for it.
I really don't miss this part of that job.
Apologies to any decent people here who are into R/C cars.
We didn't (and they still don't) carry them.
There were three reasons for this.
1) We used to, but at some point the market bottomed out. The Boss - who at the time was pretty astute about these things - saw this coming and got out of R/C cars. Since then...
2) There were no less than THREE area shops that specialized in R/C in general, and two that specifically catered to R/C cars. These shops came around after a market revival. So rather than try and compete with them, the Boss decided to focus elsewhere in the hobby industry (we were BIG into model railroading, as well as plastic kits, Breyer horses, puzzles, etc). In fact, we had an arrangement with one of these shops where we would refer all customers looking for R/C cars to them, and they'd refer custoemrs looking for model railroad (etc) to us.
3) *note: I know this sounds like stereotyping, but I swear this is true well over 50% of the time* the people who came to us looking for R/C car stuff were almost universally scum. Rude, dirty looking, stupid, dressed poorly, rude, and with poor command of English (not foreign. More like someone who droped out of high school having never passed English). Did I mention rude?
For these reasons, my store did not then and does nto now deal in R/C cars AT ALL. We have NOTHING for it, at all, and even though we have access to distributors that carry it, we will not order it.
Yet just about every day we'd get at least one phone call inquiring about R/C cars. A typical conversation might go like this:
*RING!*
Me (or other clerk): Hello, [name of store].
SC: Yeah, you got AH/C cahs? (usually VERY exaggerated Boston-ish accent. Can't pronounce R. I swear, it sounded JUST LIKE THAt almost every time).
Me: No, we don't deal in R/C cars at all. Try calling [other store] over at [address].
SC: Well f*** you then. *click*
Or like this:
*RING!*
Me (or other clerk): Hello, [name of store].
SC: Yeah, you got AH/C cahs?
Me: No, we don't deal in R/C cars at all. Try calling [other store] over at [address].
SC: Do you have Traxxas?
Me: No sir, we don't have any Traxxas stuff. Like I said, we don't deal in R/C cars AT ALL. Try calling [other store] they carry all that stuff.
SC: Well they're closed today!
[This was a problem. This other store was closed on Sundays and Mondays. We were open every day, so we'd get many more calls on Sunday and Monday about this]
Me: Yes, they are closed Sundays and Mondays.
SC: So do you have fuel?
Me: No. We don't have the right kind of fuel.
SC: Do you have ANYTHING?!?!
Me: As I said, we don't deal in R/C cars AT ALL. We have NO R/C cars, supplies, or accessories
SC: Why?
Me: Because there are three area store that do, and we don't want to compete with them.
SC: Well do you at least have [rattles off some request]? It's a nice day and I'd really like to drive my car around today.
Me: No.
SC: Well f*** you then! *click*
Again, as we have all experienced. WE DON'T HAVE IT means WE DON'T HAVE IT! Asking repeatedly does not cause us to start carrying items we do not carry.
And the walk-ins were just as bad. Again, I know this is stereotyping, but we could spot these guys a mile away. The moment they got out of their cars, we could tell what they wanted, and whoever spotted them first would alert the other staff by saying "AH/C CAHS!"
Me: Hello.
SC: Yeah whehs ya AH/C cah section?
Me: We don't have R?C cars at all.
SC: F***ing hell *leaves*
OR a variation ont eh second type of call. THey'd ask if we had this or that, we'd keep saying know. They'd insist on looking anyway, then ask AGAIN when they don't find it.
SC: Will this gas wohk in my AH/C cah? *hold up can of model airplane fuel*
Me: No sir. The percentange of Nitro isn't correct. That fuel will burn up your engine.
SC: Oh......where's the AH/C cah gas?
Me: Again sir, we don't carry it.
SC: This is bull**** I NEED it! *rant rant rant eventually leaves*
Like with the Geographically Challenged, I sorely wanted to post a sign in the window in large print sayin "NO R/C CARS!" But the Boss wouldn't go for it.
I really don't miss this part of that job.
Apologies to any decent people here who are into R/C cars.
To me, half the fun was in the building of the kits, some of which are purposely made junk out of the box, so that you had to go to the hobby shop and upgrade if you wanted to compete. (Yes, there are R/C car races, up to and including world championship-level competition.)
Not even a 4'x8'. I'm tempted to do N scale, I've got the room for a 2'x4' in a corner, but it's a situation of having the room for one but none of the equipment, versus no room for the other but all the equipment you want. 
Mom can't throw them out when I'm not looking, I know all the junkyard owners anyway, they'd never take them.
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